Disc brakes are commonly used for braking heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses and coaches.
Disc brakes conventionally comprise a brake carrier, caliper and a rotor. The carrier is arranged to carry brake pads on each side of the rotor. The caliper is slidably mounted on the brake carrier by at least one guide assembly, such that when the disc brake is actuated, the caliper is able to slide with respect to the brake carrier. As the caliper slides inboard, the brake pads are urged onto the opposing faces of the rotor in a clamping action and a braking action is effected.
In use, a disc brake is mounted to an axle of a vehicle via a mount. The disc brake and mount are typically secured together using bolts that extend through the mount and into the brake carrier.
Even when the brake carrier and mount are bolted together, it has been recognized that slippage may occur between the brake carrier and mount due to the drag torque when braking. Also, it has been found that during certain testing conditions, specifically when a vehicle undergoes a significant number of forward and reverse movement, there is a risk that the repeated slippage may cause the bolts to rotate and loosen.
The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems with the prior art.